November 16, 2012

Aaron Gordon cut Cal, Kansas and Oregon from his list of colleges for a final three that includes two Pac-12 powers along with last seasons NCAA Champion. Brother of former New Mexico player Drew Gordon, Aaron is seen as a high powered athlete that could translate to either forward spot at the college level.

Besides being considered a top 5-10 recruit by nearly every major scouting service, Gordon was the leader of an Oakland Soldiers team that won the Nike EYBL Peach Jam. He also won the MVP of the Elite 24 Classic in Venice Beach, thrilling the crowd with a couple highlight jams that had some comparing him to Blake Griffin. Gordon is expected to be a spring signee, which means we may not find out his decision until closer to the high school All-Star game season.

After a strong season opener derailed by an ankle sprain, Isaiah Austin helped Baylor get an 84-74 win over Boston College. Austin had 16 points and 9 rebounds, also being credited with playing solid 2nd Half defense on Eagles star sophomore Ryan Anderson, who finished with 25. The real star of the game, however, was senior PG Pierre Jackson, who finished with 31 points and 7 assists.

Jackson was chosen as the pre-season Big 12 player of the year and has been showing why with averages of 23.3 and 8.7 in Baylors first three victories. Baylor will play Colorado tonight in the semi-finals of the Charleston classic, with a chance to play either Murray State or St. John's for the title on Sunday.

After having to sit out his senior season of high school with a back injury, one might expect Ryan Arcidiacono to take some time to get into the groove of the college game. Instead, the freshman PG has stepped up to the challenge, averaging 18 ppg and 5.3 apg while leading Villanova to a 3-0 start. Last night Arcidiacono overcame 7 turnovers to lead the Wildcats to a 89-81 victory over Purdue in the 2k Sports Classic.

Villanova will face an Alabama team with an identical record for the tournament title tonight. Arciadiacono is looking like a driving force behind coach Jay Wright's team and someone likely to garner at least some of the scoring load left with the departure of Maalik Wayns. He was a definite candidate for the McDonald's All-American game before missing his final HS season, his early play is evidence as to why.